Expert: Have4Paws - 12/1/2003

Question
I have a 4 year old Beagle named Elvis, and boy, does he love to eat. He barks and barks until I  refill his food bowl. Elvis eats approximately 3-5 times per day. He eats 1/2 can of wet food and 1 cup of dry food every time he eats. I take him on 10-15 minute walks about 3-4 times per day. But I am beginning to worry about his weight gain. Although he is a large beagle, he weighs 40 pounds. His physical activity level is kind of poor. He pretty much sleeps all day until it is time to eat or go on a walk. He is a spectacular dog with a whole lot of personality. I don't want to see him sick. How can I help him to lose weight. p.s. he will not eat diet food.

Answer
Hi, thanks for writing to me! Elvis will thank you too.

Your boy is dangerously overweight. 40# for a beagle is excessive even if he is larger than normal. First and foremost, he is a beagle. Beagles will literally eat until they explode or drop dead. This is why "free feeding" is never recommended for this breed (leaving food down all the time) Unfortunately, the reason Elvis keeps eating is because he keeps getting you to feed him. At best he should be eating like 1/2 cup of dry food twice a day!! There is no reason to give him ANY wet food unless he needs to take medications which you can disguise with a tablespoon of wet food (not even close to a half a can!) In addition, it is essential that he be fed a high quality and nutritionally balanced dry food. I like either NutraMax or Royal Canin (a bit more expensive) He should never be given any human food except for maybe an OCCASIONAL treat made from a stuffed "KONG" with like a tablespoon of peanut butter in it. This should however be reserved for times when you aren't going to be home as a "babysitter" as it will occupy him for hours if stuffed well.

Elvis doesn't need diet food, he just needs LESS food. You can begin by cutting back the size of his food portions every day. So if you feed him 3-5 times feed him 20% less each time of dry AND wet food. When you get to 50% less, cut out one meal daily and then resume reducing the portions the same way until you get to 1/2 cup twice a day. It would be best if you sat down and planned out on paper the exact amounts for each day so you can faithfully follow your plan.

When Elvis barks you must ignore him. Try to engage him in play or a petting session instead but DO NOT give in, not once, not one bite or he will know he can make it happen again and again, which is how you got here in the first place :( Continue the walks, these are essential. Try to get 5 minutes of running or jogging time into those walks.
Lastly, he needs to be checked out by the evt to make sure that he has no damage internally from the extra weight. It can cause all kinds of problems on his heart, joints, lungs etc. Overweight beagles live 50% as long as appropriate weight beagles.

Best of luck and hopefully Elvis will regain his figure and live a long and healthy life!
Have4Paws